The effect of operational parameters in the photocatalytic activity of synthesized Mg/ZnO-SnO2 nanoparticles

摘要

In this study, ZnO-SnO2 nanoparticles were prepared using the co-precipitation method, and then to reach higher photocatalytic activity, Mg was impregnated onto the prepared nanoparticles. The results of BET analysis indicated that compared to pure ZnO-SnO2, Mg/ZnO-SnO2 nanoparticles had a higher specific surface area. The photocatalytic performance of synthesized samples was monitored by degradation rate of Methyl Orange (MO) as a probe pollutant under UV light irradiation. In order to get more information for optimization of photocatalytic activity, the effect of various operational parameters (i.e. catalyst dosage, MO concentration, pH, and light intensity) were investigated. The results revealed that the highest removal percentage of MO was achieved with 800mg L-1 of Mg/ZnO-SnO2, 10mg L-1 of MO at pH=4.5, and light intensity of 62.2Wm(-2). The synthesized samples demonstrated superior photocatalytic activity than TiO2-P25 nanoparticles.